US9027036B2 - Status management device, status management method, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

A status management device is presented, the device including multiple first application units for monitoring status information indicating a status of a management target, multiple second application units for outputting first acquisition request information of the status information with identification information of the management target, a search unit for outputting a storage location corresponding to the identification information when the first acquisition request information is received from the second application unit, a request unit for outputting second acquisition request information of the status information to the first application unit corresponding to the outputted storage location, and a transmission unit for outputting the status information supplied from the first application unit in response to the second acquisition request information to the second application unit which corresponds to a request source of the first acquisition request information.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a status management device, a status management method, and a recording medium, for managing status information within a device. The present invention relates, in particular, to a status management device, a status management method, and a recording medium, for transmitting status information between an application that processes the status information of a communication channel or the like in a device and another application that requires the status information.

2. Description of the Related Art

A general device stores a plurality of applications to execute processings based on the stored applications. Furthermore, in many cases, the plurality of applications in the device work together to execute a processing. For this reason, the device is required to transfer information of a status related to the processing handled by one application to another application.

In general, in a device operated by program control, a management unit for managing a status retains status information in a concentrated manner. Moreover, in general, in the device operated by program control, an application that requests status information directly obtains the status information through an application processing the status information.

A method of allowing a computer system to manage status information is disclosed in, for example, JP 9-69083 A (hereinafter, referred to as Reference 1). Specifically, a management unit of the computer system gathers status information from each agent by polling to register the gathered status information in a constitution management database. In this manner, the management unit of the computer system manages the status information such as a system program or a business program in an integrated fashion.

However, in the above-described general management method the application processing status information (for example, an application for controlling and monitoring a communication channel or the like) and a management application for managing the status information (the management unit for managing the status information) both manage the status information in a separate manner. Therefore, in the above-described general management method, the management unit is required to manage the latest status. If the management unit does not consequently monitor the application having the status information, there arises a problem that inconsistency in status occurs between the application processing the status information and the management application (unit).

Moreover, the above-described general method of transmitting the status information between the applications, it is necessary for each application to separately manage a query destination and a notification destination of the status. Therefore, the above-described general method of transferring status information between the applications has a problem that the implementation or maintenance of applications becomes complicated as the number of related applications increases.

Furthermore, according to the invention described in the above-citedReference 1, the device that processes the status (agent) and the management unit that has to constantly manage the status information, in view of the system architecture, both manages the status information in a separate manner. Therefore, in the invention described in the above-citedReference 1, the management unit is required to manage the latest status. If the management unit does not consequently monitor all the agents (for example, reduce a time interval between pollings), there arises a problem that inconsistency in status occurs between the application and the management unit. Furthermore, in the above-citedReference 1, since the management unit has to consequently monitor all the agents (for example, to reduce a time interval between pollings), there is a problem that a load on a CPU disadvantageously increases as the number of agents increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above problems, the present invention has an exemplary feature of providing a status management device, a status management method, and a recording medium, which allow applications to transmit the current status without being conscious of each other's presence and without keeping status information in a status-information management unit in an integrated manner.

To achieve the above-mentioned exemplary feature, a status management device according to the present invention includes: one or a plurality of first application units for monitoring status information indicating a status of a management target; one or plurality of second application units for outputting first acquisition request information of the status information with identification information of the management target; a search unit for outputting a storage location corresponding to the identification information when the first acquisition request information is received from the second application unit; a request unit for outputting second acquisition request information of the status information to the first application unit corresponding to the outputted storage location; and a transmission unit for outputting the status information supplied from the first application unit in response to the second acquisition request information to the second application unit which corresponds to a request source of the first acquisition request information.

Also, to achieve the above-mentioned exemplary feature, a status management method according to the present invention includes: providing one or a plurality of first application units for monitoring status information indicating a status of a management target; providing one or plurality of second application units for outputting first acquisition request information of the status information with identification information of the management target; outputting a storage location corresponding to the identification information when the first acquisition request information is received from the second application unit; outputting second acquisition request information of the status information to the first application unit corresponding to the outputted storage location; and outputting status information supplied from the first application unit in response to the second acquisition request information to the second application unit which corresponds to a request source of the first acquisition request information.

Also, to achieve the above-mentioned exemplary feature, a recording medium for storing a program according to the present invention includes a plurality of application units operated by program control. The recording medium stores the program for causing the computer to execute the processings of: outputting a storage location corresponding to received identification information when first acquisition information of status information with the identification information for identifying a management target is received from a first application unit requiring the status information; outputting second acquisition information of the status information to a second application unit corresponding to the outputted storage location; and outputting the status information supplied from the second application unit in response to the second acquisition request information to the first application unit corresponding to a request source of the first acquisition request information.

Therefore, in the above-described invention, instead of storing status information in a status-information management unit (an application for managing status information), the latest status information is obtained from an application having the status information in response to an acquisition request information of the status information from another application. Therefore, the above-described invention has the effect in that it is no longer necessary to confirm whether or not the status-information management unit always keeps the latest status for the application having the status information.

Moreover, in the above-described invention, when the application requiring status information needs to obtain the status information from the application having the status information, the status information is obtained only through the transmission and reception of identification information to be managed to/from the status-information management unit. Therefore, the above-described invention has the effect in that the applications are not required to be conscious of each other's presence.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration including a status management device (abase station controller) according to first through third embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing configurations of a control circuit and a memory unit shown inFIG. 1 according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an operation according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a structure view showing the contents stored in a registration-information memory unit shown inFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing configurations of the control circuit and the memory unit shown inFIG. 1 according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an operation according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a structure view showing the contents stored in a registration-information memory unit shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 8A is a structure view showing the contents stored in a status memory unit shown in each ofFIG. 2,5,9;

FIG. 8B is a structure view showing the contents stored in the status memory unit shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 8C is a structure view showing the contents stored in a status memory unit shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing configurations of the control circuit and the memory unit shown inFIG. 1 according to the third embodiment; and

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an operation according to the third embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Next, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a system according to the first embodiment of the invention. The system includes a base station controller as an example of a status management device.

The system shown inFIG. 1 includes abase station controller90, arecording medium961,base stations81, and awired network82.

Thebase station81 is a wireless base station for wirelessly transmitting and receiving data to/from a plurality of wireless terminals (not shown).

Thebase station controller90 includes acontrol circuit91, astorage unit92, amemory unit93, adisplay unit94, anoperation unit95, a recordingmedium control unit96, aline interface circuit97, and a plurality ofline interface circuits98.

Thestorage unit92 is a non-volatile recording medium device (for example, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk). Thestorage unit92 stores various programs including aninformation management program921.

Thememory unit93 is a volatile memory (for example, a Random Access Memory). Thememory unit93 includes a work area for allowing thecontrol circuit91 to perform various processings and a program area. Upon start-up of thebase station controller90, various programs including theinformation management program921 are loaded from thestorage unit92 into the program area of thememory unit93. Thecontrol circuit91 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit)911 that executes various programs stored in the program area.

Thecontrol circuit91 controls the entirebase station controller90. TheCPU911 executes various programs stored in thestorage unit92 and thecontrol unit91 controls thememory unit93 to be operated under the program control. Specifically, when thebase station controller90 is powered ON, thecontrol circuit91 executes a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) (not shown). Then, thecontrol circuit91 loads various programs stored in thestorage unit92 into the program area of thememory unit93 to execute loaded various programs in response to an external command, reception, or the like. In this case, thecontrol circuit91 controls the recordingmedium control unit96, theline interface circuit97, the plurality ofline interface circuits98, thestorage unit92, thememory unit93, thedisplay unit94, theoperation unit95, and the like. It is preferred that the program loaded into the program area of thememory unit93 is deployed in a machine language directly executable by theCPU911.

The recordingmedium control unit96 is a device, for example, a CD-ROM drive device, a rewritable drive device, or a DVD Burning drive device, which is capable of reading therecording medium961.

Therecording medium961 is a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a CD-R, or a DVD. On therecording medium961, theinformation management program921 is written in advance.

Theline interface circuit97 transmits and receives data to/from a device (for example, an SGSN) connected to the wirednetwork82 under the control of thecontrol circuit91. The SGSN is an abbreviation for Serving General Packet Radio Service Node.

Theline interface circuits98 transmit and receive data to/from thebase station81 under the control of thecontrol circuit91.

Thedisplay unit94 includes, for example, a liquid crystal panel. Thedisplay unit94 displays each information under the control of thecontrol circuit91.

Theoperation unit95 is, for example, a keyboard including various key buttons and the like. Theoperation unit95 accepts various key operations by an operator under the control of thecontrol circuit91.

For theinformation management program921, thecontrol circuit91 installs theinformation management program921 from therecording medium961 on thestorage unit92 by a key operation of the operator. Specifically, the operator sets therecording medium961 into the recordingmedium control unit96 so as to direct the installation of theinformation management program921 written on therecording medium961 through theoperation unit95. As a result, thecontrol circuit91 stores theinformation management program921 in thestorage unit92. It is not always necessary for the operator to install theinformation management program921 on thestorage unit92 after the system introduction. A manufacturer may pre-install theinformation management program921 on thestorage unit92 at the time of factory shipment.

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 1 through 4 andFIG. 8A.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a configuration of thecontrol circuit91 and a configuration of thememory unit93 shown inFIG. 1. TheCPU911 of thecontrol circuit91 is connected to each of thestorage unit92, thedisplay unit94, theoperation unit95, the recordingmedium control unit96, theline interface circuit97, and theline interface circuits98. However, thestorage unit92, thedisplay unit94, theoperation unit95, the recordingmedium control unit96, theline interface circuit97, and theline interface circuits98, which are connected to theCPU911, are omitted fromFIG. 2.

Thecontrol circuit91 includes theCPU911, a status-information management unit4, anapplication unit1, and anapplication unit2.

Thememory unit93 includes a registration-information memory unit5, a status memory unit3, and anapplication program931. Specifically, the registration-information memory unit5 and the status memory unit3 are allocated to the working area in thememory unit93, while various programs including theapplication program931 are stored in the program area in thememory unit93. Although a plurality of programs as well as theapplication program931 are written in thememory unit93 during the operation, they are omitted fromFIG. 2.

The registration-information memory unit5 contains, for example, as shown inFIG. 4, an item of a management target and an item of a storage location of status information for each management target. Specifically, the content the management target item includes management target identification information (for example, “a communication channel A”, “a communication channel B”, or “an interface circuit A” corresponding to a communication channel with the base station or its own line interface circuit98) corresponding to information for identifying status information to be managed. The content of the item of the storage location includes storage location information corresponding to a management target (the management target identification information, for example, application identification information and an address in the memory unit93).

The status memory unit3 includes, for example, as shown inFIG. 8A, an address item, a management target item, and an item of a connection status corresponding to status information. The connection status is managed for each management target corresponding to the address. Specifically, the content of the field of the address item contains the storage location for both the management target identification information and the connection status information (for example, the address in the memory unit93). The content of the management target item includes the management target identification information for identifying status information to be managed (for example, a communication channel with the base station or its own line interface circuit98). The content of the item of the connection status corresponding to the status information includes information of a connection status (for example, disconnected or connected) corresponding to the management target (the management target identification information). Although only the connection status is shown as the status information inFIG. 8A, a plurality of status information may be present (for example, a connection status, or error information on a communication channel).

On the other hand, inFIG. 2, theapplication program931 executed by theCPU911 includes theinformation management program921 shown inFIG. 1, and an application, program a and a monitor program (not shown). A case where each of the status-information management unit4 and theapplication units1 and2 executes its own program will be described below.

The status-information management unit4 executes theinformation management program921 under the control of theCPU911 to manage registration information in the status memory unit3, which is managed by theapplication unit1. Furthermore, the status-information management unit4 includes asearch unit6, arequest unit7, and atransmission unit8 and controls them. When a request for reading the status information, to which the management target identification information is added, is made from theapplication unit2, thesearch unit6 searches and reads out a storage location of the status information from the registration-information memory unit5 (seeFIG. 4) based on the management target identification information as a key for extracting the storage location of the status information. Based on the storage location found in the search, therequest unit7 makes a request for the status information to theapplication unit1. Thetransmission unit8 obtains the status information requested by therequest unit7 through theapplication unit1 and transmits the obtained status information to theapplication unit2. The storage location of the status information is registered in advance by the status-information management unit4. Specifically, the status-information management unit4 uses the management target identification information (“the communication channel”, “the interface circuit”, or the like) stored in the status memory unit3 as a key to register the storage location of the status information corresponding to the management target identification information in the registration-information memory unit5 based on the request of registering the storage location of the status information from theapplication unit1.

Theapplication unit1 executes the application program a under the control of theCPU911 to perform processings including management of connection statuses of the plurality ofline interface circuits98 and communication control with thebase station81. For example, theapplication unit1 constantly monitors the status information including information indicating that the status of each of the line interface circuits98 (the communication channel with each of the base stations81) is “connected” or “disconnected” and an error in theline interface circuit98. Furthermore, theapplication unit1 stores the status information containing the monitored connection status of the communication channel and an error in theline interface circuit98 itself in the status memory unit3. Upon detection of a status change, theapplication unit1 rewrites a part of the content in the status memory unit3, in which the status change occurs.

Theapplication unit2 executes a monitor program under the control of theCPU911 to monitor the plurality ofline interface circuits98. Furthermore, theapplication unit2 indicates connection information of the communication channel on thedisplay unit94 when a change occurs in a connection status of the communication channel between a particular one of theline interface circuits98 and thebase station81. In this case, when a status change occurs, theapplication unit2 may notify the exterior (for example, a terminal connected to the wired network82) of the occurrence of the status change. Alternatively, if theapplication unit2 detects the disconnection of the communication channel or an error in theline interface circuit98, theline interface circuit98 may be switched to another one.

The above-described monitor program is a program for theapplication unit2 to monitor a particular one of theline interface circuits98. For easy understanding of the description, it is assumed that the operator can execute the monitor program through theoperation unit95. In this case, for start-up of the monitor program, the operator selects one from the plurality ofline interface circuits98 on theoperation unit95. Therefore, theapplication unit2 monitors the communication channel (in the example, “the communication channel A”) between the selected particular one of theline interface circuits98 and thebase station81.

In the first embodiment, the monitor program is given as an example of the programs executed by theapplication unit2. However, any program may be used as an application executed by theapplication unit2 as long as the operation is required to be switched in accordance with the status information containing the connection status of the communication channel managed by theapplication unit1 and therefore is not particularly limited.

For convenience of the description, in the first embodiment, theapplication unit1 is an application providing the status information, while theapplication unit2 is an application requesting the status information. In practice, each of the applications can be any of the application providing the status information and the application requesting the status information.

A format of the registration-information memory unit5 is determined at the time of system construction. The identification information of theapplication unit1 and the management target identification information, which are to be format information, are preset in thestorage unit92. Therefore, the status-information management unit4 creates the registration-information memory unit5 in thememory unit93 based on the format information of the registration-information memory unit5 set in thememory unit92 for the start-up of the system. In this case, among the management target items and the items of storage locations of the status, the identification information of the application unit1 (in the example, “AP11”; seereference numeral51 ofFIG. 4) and a plurality of management target identification information are registered in the registration-information memory unit5. During the operation, storage location information (application identification information and an address) is registered in an area for the storage location corresponding to the management target in the registration-information memory unit5. Upon start-up of the system, the area is left blank.

If there are a plurality of applications providing status information, which are different from the above-described management target, the status-information management unit4 creates the registration-information memory unit5 for each application in the same procedure as described above.

When theapplication units1 and2 transmit and receive data to/from the status-information management unit4, the data transmission and reception are performed through, for example, a specific area (not shown) in thememory unit93. Specifically, when outputting (transmitting) request information (containing added information) or data information to the destination, each of theapplication units1 and2 and the status-information management unit4 writes the request information or the requested data information in the specific area in thememory unit93. When receiving the request information from an other party of the communication (theapplication unit1 or2, or the status-information management unit4), each of theapplication units1 and2 and the status-information management unit4 analyzes the request information written in the specific area to execute it. After the completion of the processing according to the analysis, the request information is cleared. The request information according to the first embodiment of the present invention of this case means, for example, information for a registration request (for example, a registration request of a storage location), information for an acquisition request (for example, an acquisition request (a read request) of status information), and the like. The requested data information means data (for example, status information) read out in response to the request information (the acquisition request of the data) In the following description of the operation, the above-described description is omitted for easy understanding of the description. Only the transmission and reception of the request information or the data information will be described.

Next, with reference toFIGS. 1 through 4 and8A, the operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing the operation according to the first embodiment.

First, theapplication unit1 transmits the management target identification information (the communication channel A, the communication channel B, and so on ofFIG. 4) kept in advance and the request information for registering the storage location of the status information (an area a1 in the status memory unit3, an area b1 in the status memory unit3, and so on) to the status-information management unit4. The areas a1 and b1 in this case are addresses in thememory unit93. Then, the status-information management unit4 registers the storage location information (for example, the AP11 and the memory address) based on the registration information including the management target identification information and the storage location (for example, the memory address), for which the request information is addressed, in the registration-information memory unit5 in thememory unit93. A detailed registration processing in this case is as follows.

For example, upon start-up of thebase station controller90, theapplication unit1 creates the status memory unit3. Specifically, theapplication unit1 sequentially confirms the presence/absence of theline interface circuits98. If theline interface circuit98 is present, an address is allocated to the presentline interface circuit98. Furthermore, theapplication unit1 generates management target identification information (for example, “the communication channel A”) to be set in the area indicated by the allocated address and sets the generated identification information in the area indicated by the allocated address. In this case, the area indicated by the allocated address is preserved so as to store a connection status. The information set in the preserved area may include information such as the identification information of theline interface circuits98 in addition to the management target identification information and the connection status. In this manner, theapplication unit1 checks all theline interface circuits98 to create the status memory unit3. The status memory unit3 created at this time is, for example, that shown inFIG. 8A. After that, theapplication unit1 transmits the registration request information. The registration request information in this case contains the management target identification information and its storage location (for example, the address in the memory) to the status-information management unit4 to make a registration request (sequence S11 ofFIG. 3). After the registration request, theapplication unit1 performs a connecting operation with the base station for each of theline interface circuits98. Theapplication unit1 registers the result of the connecting operation (“connected” or “disconnected”) in the area of the corresponding connection status in the status memory unit3.

On the other hand, the status-information management unit4 receiving the request information uses the management target identification information as a key to store the storage location of the status information corresponding to the management target identification information in the registration-information memory unit5 as shown inFIG. 4 (sequence S12). In this case, the storage location information contains the identification information of the application and the memory address. In this manner, the status-information management unit4 performs the registration processing of the storage location of the status information corresponding to theapplication1, and terminates the process of creating the registration-information memory unit5 at the time of start-up of the device.

Next, theapplication unit1 monitors the communication channel for each of theline interface circuits98. When a status change occurs, the result of change (“connected” or “disconnected”) is registered in the area of the corresponding connection status in the status memory unit3. For example, it is assumed that theapplication unit1 recognizes that the connection status of the communication channel A changes to “connected”. In this case, the application unit registers1 registers (overwrites) “connected” in the area of the connection status of the communication channel A in the status memory unit3.

When the information of “the communication channel A” is required to be read out, theapplication unit2 sends the request information for reading out the status information to the status-information management unit4. The request information in this case contains the management target identification information, i.e., “the communication channel A”, as a key for reading out the status information. In the example, a predetermined value is set for a timer (not shown) so as to enable an interrupt action to theapplication unit2 in thecontrol circuit91 at predetermined time intervals. Each time theapplication unit2 is interrupted by the timer, theapplication unit2 transmits the request information for reading out the status information to the status-information management unit4 (sequence S13).

The status-information management unit4 receiving the request information passes control to thesearch unit6. Thesearch unit6 searches and reads out the storage location information of the status information from the registration-information memory unit5 based on the received “communication channel A” as a key to extract the status information corresponding to the result “the area a1 in the AP11” (sequence S14). Thesearch unit6 passes control to therequest unit7.

Therequest unit7 of the status-information management unit4 adds information containing the storage location information (“the area a1 in the AP11”) and the management target identification information (“the communication channel A”) to the request information and transmits the request information for reading out the status information to theapplication unit1 corresponding to the AP11 (sequence S15).

Theapplication unit1 receiving the request information reads out the status information “connected” from the status memory unit3 based on the received “the area a1” and “the communication channel A” to transmit the readout status information to the status-information management unit4 (sequences S16 and S17). In this case, since theapplication unit1 can use the memory address to directly designate the storage location of the status information, a search time can be reduced as compared with a search method of using the management target identification information.

Theapplication unit1 may also use only the management target identification information to search through the status memory unit3 to extract the connection information corresponding to the status information although a processing time is longer than that of the direct access to the memory. Therefore, when only the managementtarget identification information1 is used, the memory address may be omitted from the registration-information memory unit5. In this case, however, application identification information is required as information of the storage location.

On the other hand, the status-information management unit4 receiving the status information passes control to thetransmission unit8. Thetransmission unit8 taking control transmits the status information received from theapplication unit1 to theapplication unit2 corresponding to a request source (sequence S18).

Theapplication unit2 receiving the status information indicating that “the communication channel A” is in a “connected” status switches its operation in accordance with the status. Specifically, since the communication channel A is successfully connected to thebase station81, theapplication unit2 indicates the successful connection information on the display unit94 (sequence S19). It is assumed that theapplication unit1 recognizes that the communication channel A is in an “disconnected” status at the beginning.

As described above, the status-information management unit4 receives the request information for obtaining the status information, to which the management target identification information is added, from theapplication unit2 requiring the status information. Then, the status-information management unit4 extracts the storage location information from the registration-information memory unit5 to transmit the request information with the storage location information for obtaining the status information to theapplication unit1. Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the status-information management unit (application for managing the status information) does not retain the status information to obtain the latest status information from the application having the status information in response to the request information for obtaining the status information from one application. Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the status-information management unit4 is not required to confirm whether or not theapplication unit1 retains the latest status information.

Moreover, in the first embodiment of the present invention, theapplication unit1 and theapplication unit2 are not required to be conscious of each other's presence. Therefore, the status information can be transmitted and received between the applications in a simple control procedure.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, since it is not necessary to manage the status information in which a change frequently occurs, inconsistency in status does not occurs between theapplication unit1 and the status-information management unit4. Moreover, in the first embodiment of the present invention, even if the number of theapplication unit1 increases, it is not necessary to manage the status information in which a change frequently occurs. Accordingly, a load on a CPU does not increase.

In the above-described first embodiment, after the status-information management unit4 receives the request information for obtaining the status information from theapplication unit2, thesearch unit6 in the status-information management unit4 extracts the storage location information corresponding to the management target identification information from the registration-information memory unit5. In the first embodiment, however, instead of using the registration-information memory unit5, the search unit may calculate the storage location information corresponding to the management target identification information by a calculation formula. In this case, the management target identification information corresponds to an input of the calculation formula, while the storage location information corresponds to an output of the calculation formula.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 1,5 through7, and8A through8C.

FIG. 5 is a view showing configurations of thecontrol circuit91 and thememory unit93 shown inFIG. 1. TheCPU911 in thecontrol circuit91 is connected to each of thestorage unit92, thedisplay unit94, theoperation unit95, the recordingmedium control unit96, theline interface circuit97, and theline interface circuits98. However, thestorage unit92, thedisplay unit94, theoperation unit95, the recordingmedium control unit96, theline interface circuit97, and theline interface circuits98, which are connected to theCPU911, are omitted fromFIG. 5.

Thecontrol circuit91 includes theCPU911, a status-information management unit41, and application units1-1,1-2,1-3, and2.

The status-information management unit41 includes therequest unit7, thesearch unit6, and a status-information aggregating unit9.

Thememory unit93 includes the registration-information memory unit5, status memory units3-1,3-2, and3-3, and theapplication program931. During the operation of thebase station controller90, various programs are written to thememory unit93. Various programs as well as theapplication program931 are also omitted fromFIG. 5.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that thetransmission unit8 is replaced by the status-information aggregating unit9, theapplication unit1 is replaced by the application units1-1,1-2, and1-3, and the status memory unit3 is replaced by the status memory units3-1,3-2 and3-3. Furthermore, the second embodiment also differs from the first embodiment in that the plurality ofapplication units1, each corresponding to a management target, are provided in the registration-information memory unit5. Specifically, the second embodiment presupposes that theapplication unit2 transmitting an acquisition request of information of a status corresponding to at least one management target are provided, and that the application units1-1,1-2, and1-3 retaining different types of status information corresponding to at least one management target are provided. For this reason, the second embodiment includes the status-information aggregating unit9. Specifically, the status-information aggregating unit9 obtains the status information corresponding to one management target requested to the plurality of application units1-1,1-2, and1-3 by therequest unit7 from each of the application units1-1 to1-3, and then aggregates a plurality of obtained status information to transmit the aggregated status information to theapplication unit2.

Theapplication program931 executed by thecontrol circuit91 includes theinformation management program921, application programs a1, a2, and a3, and the monitor program (not shown). In this case, the status-information management unit41 executes theinformation management program921 under the control of theCPU911 to manage the registration information of the status memory unit3 managed by the application units1-1 to1-3. The application unit1-1 executes the application program a1 under the control of theCPU911. The application unit1-2 execute the application program a2 under the control of theCPU911. The application unit1-3 executes the application program a3 under the control of theCPU911. Each of the application units1-1 to1-3 in this case performs processings including management of the connection statuses of the plurality ofline interface circuits98, communication control with thebase station81, and the like. Theapplication unit2 executes the monitor program under the control of theCPU911 to monitor the plurality ofline interface circuits98. The monitor program is the same as described in the first embodiment.

Furthermore, for easy understanding of the description, it is assumed that the application program a1 is a program for managing the connection status, the application program a2 is a program for managing error information of the communication channel, and the application program a3 is a program for managing a lock status. The error information on the communication channel in this case is, for example, error information such as an error rate and a channel number which cannot be used for an error. In the second embodiment, the following description is given assuming that the error information is an error rate. The lock status is, for example, the following status. When a maintenance person sets “lock ON” for a specific communication channel through theoperation unit95, the set specific communication channel is forced to be in an unusable status. Therefore, for example, when there is theapplication unit2 using the communication channel B, theapplication unit2 cannot use the communication channel B with thebase station81 even if the communication channel is in a connected status.

The format of the registration-information memory unit5 is determined at the time of system construction. The identification information of the application units1-1 to1-3 and the management target identification information, which are to be format information, are preset in thestorage unit92. Therefore, the status-information management unit41 of thecontrol circuit91 creates the registration-information memory unit5 in thememory unit93 based on the format information of the registration-information memory unit5 set in thememory unit93 for the start-up of the system. In this case, among the management target items and the items of storage locations of the status, the identification information of the application units1-1 to1-3 (in the example, “AP11”, “AP12”, and “AP13”; seereference numerals51,52, and53 inFIG. 7) and the plurality of management target identification information are registered in the registration-information memory unit5. Specifically, during the operation, storage location information (application identification information and an address) is registered in an area for the storage location corresponding to the management target in the registration-information memory unit5. However, upon start-up of the system, the area is left blank.

If there are a plurality of applications providing status information which is different from the above-described management target, the status-information management unit41 creates the registration-information memory unit5 for each application in the same procedure as described above.

When the application units1-1 to1-3 transmit and receive data to/from the status-information management unit4, the data transmission and reception are performed through, for example, a specific area (not shown) in thememory unit93. Specifically, when outputting (transmitting) request information (containing added information) or data information to the destination, each of the application units1-1 to1-3 and2, and the status-information management unit41 writes the request information or the requested data information in the specific area in thememory unit93. When receiving the request information from an other party of the communication, each of the application units1-1 to1-3 and2 and the status-information management unit41 analyzes the request information written in the specific area to execute it. After the completion of the processing according to the analysis, the request information is cleared. The request information according to the second embodiment of the present invention in this case means, for example, information for a registration request (for example, a registration request of a storage location), information for an acquisition request (for example, an acquisition request (a read request) of status information), and the like. The requested data information means data (for example, status information) read out in response to the request information (for example, the acquisition request of the data). In the following description of the operation, the above-described description is omitted for easy understanding of the description and only the transmission and reception of the request information or the data information will be described. Furthermore, for easy understanding of the description, the registration information request information is referred to as the registration request and the acquisition request information is referred to as the acquisition request (or the read request).

Next, with reference toFIGS. 1,5 to7, and8A to8C, the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the second embodiment.FIG. 7 is a view showing the contents stored in the registration-information memory unit5.

The application unit1-1 manages a connection status of a communication channel of each of theline interface circuits98.FIG. 8A is a view showing the contents of a status memory unit3-1, managed by the application unit1-1.FIG. 8B is a view showing the contents of a status memory unit3-2, managed by the application unit1-2.FIG. 8C is a view showing the contents of a status memory unit3-3, managed by the application unit1-3.

First, the application units1-1 to1-3 transmit the management target identification information (“the communication channel A”, “the communication channel B” . . . , and so on ofFIG. 7) kept in advance and the registration request information, to which the storage location of the status information is added, to the status-information management unit41. In this case, the storage locations are, for example, indicated by memory addresses of the application units1-1 to1-3 respectively as the areas a1, a2, and a3 in the case of the communication channel A, and indicated by memory addresses of the application units1-1 to1-3 respectively as the areas b1, b2, and b3 in the case of the communication channel B. The status-information management unit41 receiving the notification registers the storage location information in the registration-information memory unit5 based on the received registration request information including the management target identification information and the storage location. A detailed registration processing in this case is as follows.

For example, upon start-up of thebase station controller90, the application units1-1 to1-3 create the status memory units3. Specifically, the application units1-1 to1-3 sequentially confirm the presence/absence of theline interface circuits98. If theline interface circuit98 is present, an address is allocated to the presentline interface circuit98. Then, the application units1-1 to1-3 generate management target identification information (for example, “the communication channel A”), sets the generated identification information in the area indicated by the allocated address. In this case, the area indicated by the allocated address is preserved so as to store a status (a connection status, an error status on a communication channel, and a lock status). The information set in the preserved area may include information such as the identification information of theline interface circuits98 in addition to the management target identification information and the above-described status. In this manner, the application units1-1 to1-3 check all theline interface circuits98 to create the status memory units3. The status memory units3 created at this time are, for example, the ones as shown inFIG. 8A for the application unit1-1, the ones as shown inFIG. 8B for the application unit1-2, and the ones as shown inFIG. 8C for the application unit1-3. After that, the application units1-1 to1-3 add information containing its own identification information (for example, “AP11”, “AP12”, and “AP13), the set management target identification information, and its storage location (for example, an address in the memory) to the registration request information. The application units1-1 to1-3 transmit the added registration request information to the status-information management unit41 to make a request for registration to the registration-information memory unit5 (sequence S21 ofFIG. 6). After the registration request, the application unit1-1 performs a connecting operation with the base station for each of theline interface circuits98. The application unit1-1 registers the result of the connecting operation (“connected” or “disconnected”) in the area of the corresponding communication channel in the status memory unit3-1.

On the other hand, the status-information management unit41 receiving the registration request information from the respective application units1-1 to1-3 uses the management target identification information as a key to store the storage location of the status information corresponding to the identification information of the respective request sources (“AP11”, “AP12”, and “AP13”) in the registration-information memory unit5 (sequence S22). In this case, the storage location information contains the identification information of the application and the memory address. The created registration-information memory unit5 is, for example, the one as shown inFIG. 7. In this manner, the status-information management unit41 performs the registration processing of the storage location of the status information corresponding to the application units1-1 to1-3, and terminates the process of creating the registration-information memory unit5 at the time of start-up of the device.

Next, the application unit1-1 monitors the communication channel for each of theline interface circuits98. When a status change occurs, the result of change (“connected” or “disconnected”) is registered in the area of the connection status corresponding to the communication channel with a change in the status memory unit3.

At predetermined time intervals, the application unit1-2 obtains the number of occurred errors in each of theline interface circuits98 and the number of received packets in the predetermined time period between the time intervals to calculate an error rate. Furthermore, the application unit1-2 registers the calculated error rate in an error status area in the status memory unit3 corresponding to the communication channel of the calculated error rate.

When the operator sets “lock ON” or “lock OFF” for a particular one of theline interface circuits98 through theoperation unit95, the application unit1-3 puts the designatedline interface circuit98 into a locked state or a lock-off state. Furthermore, the application unit1-3 registers the result (“ON” or “OFF”) in the area of the lock status corresponding to the communication channel designated in the status memory unit3. When the device is powered ON, all the lock status areas in the status memory unit3 for the application unit1-3 are “OFF”.

When the information of “the communication channel A” is required to be read out, theapplication unit2 sends the request information for reading out the status information to the status-information management unit41 (sequence S23). The request information in this case contains the management target identification information, i.e., “the communication channel A”, as a key for reading out the status information. In the example, a predetermined value is set for a timer (not shown) so as to enable an interrupt action to theapplication unit2 in thecontrol circuit91 at predetermined time intervals. Theapplication unit2 transmits the request information for reading out the status information to the status-information management unit41 each time theapplication unit2 is interrupted by the timer.

The status-information management unit41 receiving the request information passes control to thesearch unit6. Thesearch unit6 taking control searches the storage location information of the status information from the registration-information memory unit5 based on the received “communication channel A” as a key for extracting the storage location of the status information. As a result of the search, thesearch unit6 extracts the storage locations (“the area a1 in theAP11”, “the area a2 in the AP12”, and “the area a3 in theAP13”) (sequence S24). Thesearch unit6 passes control to therequest unit7.

Therequest unit7 of the status-information management unit41 adds information containing the storage location information (the area a1 in the AP11”) and the management target identification information (“the communication channel A”) to the request information and transmits the request information for reading out the status information to the application unit1-1 corresponding to the AP11 (sequence S25).

Furthermore, therequest unit7 of the status-information management unit41 adds information containing the storage location information (the area a2 in the “AP12”) and the management target identification information (“the communication channel A”) to the request information and transmits the request information for reading out the status information to the application unit1-2 corresponding to the AP12 (sequence S25).

Furthermore, therequest unit7 of the status-information management unit41 adds information containing the storage location information (the area a3 in the “AP13”) and the management target identification information (“the communication channel A”) to the request information and transmits the request information for reading out the status information to the application unit1-3 corresponding to the AP13 (sequence S25).

The information of “the communication channel A” is formed as one useful status information only after all the three status information kept by the three application units1-1 to1-3 are gathered.

The application unit1-1 receiving the request information reads out the status information “connected” from the status memory unit3-1 based on the received “area a1” and “communication channel A” to transmit the readout status information to the status-information management unit41 (sequences S26 and S27). The application unit1-2 receiving the request information reads out the error information on the communication channel “error rate of 0.1%” from the status memory unit3-2 based on the received “area a2” and “communication channel A” to transmit the readout error information to the status-information management unit41 (sequences S26 and S27). The application unit1-3 receiving the request information reads out the lock status information “OFF” from the status memory unit3-3 based on the received “area a3” and “communication channel A” to transmit the readout lock status information to the status-information management unit41 (sequences S26 and S27). In this case, since the application units1-1 to1-3 can use the memory address to directly designate the storage location of the status information, a search time can be reduced as compared with a search method of using the management target identification information.

The application units1-1 to1-3 may also use only the management target identification information of to search through the status memory units3-1 to3-3 to extract the connection information corresponding to the status information although a processing time is longer than that of the direct access to the memory. Therefore, when only the management target identification information is used, the memory address may be omitted from the registration-information memory unit5. In this case, however, application identification information is required as information of the storage location.

On the other hand, the status-information management unit41 receiving the status information passes control to the status-information aggregating unit9. The status-information aggregating unit9 taking control waits until all the status information from the three application units1-1 to1-3 are obtained. When all the status information are obtained, the status-information aggregating unit9 transmits the status information received from the application units1-1 to1-3 to theapplication unit2 corresponding to a request source (sequence S28).

Theapplication unit2 receiving the status information indicating that “the communication channel A” is “connected”, with “the error rate of 0.1%” and “OFF” switches its operation in accordance with the status. Specifically, theapplication unit2 compares each received information with the conditions preset in thestorage unit92 and indicates information that a particular communication channel is available on the display unit84 because the conditions are satisfied (sequence S29). The conditions in this case are, for example, a connected status, the error rate of 0.5% or less, and a lock-OFF status.

As described above, the status-information management unit41 receives the request information for obtaining the status information, to which the management target identification information is added, from theapplication unit2 requiring the status information. Then, the status-information management unit41 extracts the storage location information from the registration-information memory unit5 to transmit the request information with the storage location information for obtaining the status information to theapplication unit1. Therefore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the status-information management unit41 is not required to confirm whether or not theapplication unit1 retains the latest status information.

Moreover, in the second embodiment of the present invention, theapplication units1 and2 are not required to be conscious of each other's presence. Therefore, the status information can be transmitted and received between the applications in a simple control procedure.

Furthermore, as described above, the plurality ofapplication units1 are provided. Instead of storing the status information kept by the plurality ofapplication units1 in the registration-information memory unit5, the status-information management unit41 stores the storage location information of the status information in the registration-information memory unit5. Therefore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, even if the number of theapplication units1 increases, it is not necessary to manage each of status information present in theapplication units1 in a complicated manner, and thereby the maintenance is simplified. Furthermore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, since it is not necessary to manage the status information in which a change frequently occurs, inconsistency in status does not occur between theapplication units1 and the status-information management unit41. Moreover, in the second embodiment of the present invention, even if the number of theapplication units1 increases, it is not necessary to manage the status information in which a change frequently occurs. Accordingly, even if the number of theapplication units1 increases, a load on a CPU does not increase.

The second embodiment is excellent in the following points as compared with the first, embodiment. Specifically, the status-information management unit41 manages a plurality of status information distributed to the application units1-1 to1-3, which correspond to one management target, based on their storage locations. Furthermore, after aggregating the status information obtained from the application units1-1 to1-3, the status-information management unit41 transmits the aggregated status information to theapplication unit2 requesting the acquisition of the status information. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the plurality of status information are transmitted to theapplication unit2 after being aggregated into one. Therefore, theapplication unit2 and the status-information management unit41 does not come out of synchronization.

In the above-described second embodiment, after the status-information management unit41 receives the request information for obtaining the status information from theapplication unit2, thesearch unit6 in the status-information management unit41 extracts the storage location information corresponding to the management target identification information from the registration-information memory unit5. In the second embodiment, however, instead of using the registration-information memory unit5, thesearch unit6 may calculate the storage location information corresponding to the management target identification information by a calculation formula. In this case, the management target identification information corresponds to an input of the calculation formula, while the storage location information corresponds to an output of the calculation formula.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 1,8A through8C,9, and10.

FIG. 9 is a view showing configurations of thecontrol circuit91 and thememory unit93 shown inFIG. 1. TheCPU911 in thecontrol circuit91 is connected to each of thestorage unit92, thedisplay unit94, theoperation unit95, the recordingmedium control unit96, theline interface circuit97, and theline interface circuits98. However, thestorage unit92, thedisplay unit94, theoperation unit95, the recordingmedium control unit96, theline interface circuit97, and theline interface circuits98, which are connected to theCPU911, are omitted fromFIG. 9.

Thecontrol circuit91 includes theCPU911, a status-information management unit42, the application units1-1,1-2, and1-3, and application units2-1,2-2, and2-3.

The status-information management unit42 includes therequest unit7, thesearch unit6, and a status-information distributing unit10.

Thememory unit93 includes therequest status area11, the registration-information memory unit5, the status memory units3-1 to3-3, and theapplication program931. During the operation of thebase station controller90, various programs are written to thememory unit93. However, various programs as well as theapplication program931 are omitted fromFIG. 9.

The third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the status-information aggregating unit9 is replaced by the status-information distributing unit10, theapplication unit2 is replaced by the application units2-1,2-2, and2-3, and arequest status area11 is added. Specifically, the third embodiment presupposes that the plurality of application units2-1 to2-3 transmitting acquisition requests, which correspond to one or more management target, are provided. For this reason, the third embodiment includes the status-information distributing unit10. Specifically, the status-information distributing unit10 obtains status information corresponding to one or more management target requested by therequest unit7 to theapplication units1 and then distributes the obtained status information to the application units2-1 to2-3. Furthermore, the status-information distributing unit10 has the function of the status-information aggregating unit9 described in the second embodiment.

Therequest status area11 stores identification information of theapplication units2 requesting the status information and the management target identification information. Therequest status area11 is provided to prevent one of theapplication units2 from making a read request of the status information while another one of theapplication units2 is requesting the acquisition of the same status information.

Theapplication program931 executed by thecontrol circuit91 includes theinformation management program921, the application programs a1, a2, and a3 (not shown), and monitor programs c1, c2, and c3 (not shown). In this case, the status-information management unit42 represents a functional block when theinformation management program921 is executed under the control of theCPU911 to manage the registration information of the status memory units3-1 to3-3 respectively managed by the application units1-1 to1-3. The application unit1-1 represents a functional block when executing the application program a1 under the control of theCPU911. The application unit1-2 represents a functional block when executing the application program a2 under the control of theCPU911. The application unit1-3 represents a functional block when executing the application program a3 under the control of theCPU911. Each of the application units1-1 to1-3 in this case performs processings including management of the connection statuses of the plurality ofline interface circuits98 and communication control with thebase station81. The application unit2-1 represents a functional block when executing the monitor program c1 under the control of theCPU911 to monitor the plurality ofline interface circuits98. The application unit2-2 represents a functional block when executing the monitor program c2 under the control of theCPU911 to monitor the plurality ofline interface circuits98. The application unit2-3 represents a functional block when executing the monitor program c3 under the control of theCPU911 to monitor the plurality ofline interface circuits98.

For easy understanding of the description, it is assumed that the monitor program c1 is executed, for example, when a monitor request from theoperation unit95 is received under the control of theCPU911. In the same manner, the monitor program c2 is executed, for example, in response to a monitor request received through the wirednetwork82 under the control of theCPU911. The monitor program c3 is for obtaining, for example, a history of information of theline interface circuits98 under the control of theCPU911.

Furthermore, for easy understanding of the description, as in the second embodiment, it is assumed that the application a1 is a program for managing the connection status, the application program a2 is a program for managing error information of the communication channel, and the application program a3 is a program for managing a locked status.

The format of the registration-information memory unit5 is determined at the time of system construction. The identification information of theapplication units1 and the management target identification information, which are to be format information, are preset in thestorage unit92. Therefore, the status-information management unit42 of thecontrol circuit91 creates the registration-information memory unit5 in thememory unit93 based on the format information of the registration-information memory unit5 set in thestorage unit92 for the start-up of the system. In this case, among the management target items and the items of storage locations of the statuses, the identification information of the application units1-1 to1-3 (in the example, “AP11”, “AP12”, and “AP13”; seereference numerals51,52, and53 ofFIG. 7) and the plurality of management target identification information are registered in the registration-information memory unit5. Specifically, during the operation, storage location information (application identification information and an address) is registered in an area for the storage location corresponding to the management target in the registration-information memory unit5. However, upon start-up of the system, the area is left blank.

When the application units1-1 to1-3 and2-1 to2-3 transmit and receive data to/from the status-information management unit42, the data transmission and reception are performed through, for example, a specific area (not shown) in thememory unit93. Specifically, when outputting (transmitting) request information (containing added information) or data information to the destination, each of the application units1-1 to1-3,2-1 to2-3, and the status-information management unit42 writes the request information or the requested data information in the specific area in thememory unit93. When receiving the request information from an other party of the communication, each of the application units1-1 to1-3,2-1 to2-3, and the status-information management unit42 analyzes the request information written in the specific area to execute it. After the completion of the processing according to the analysis, the request information is cleared. The request information according to the third embodiment of the present invention in this case means, for example, information for a registration request (for example, a registration request of a storage location), information for an acquisition request (for example, an acquisition request of status information), and the like. The requested data information means data (for example, status information) read out in response to the request information (for example, a read request of the data). In the following description of the operation, the above-described description is omitted for easy understanding of the description. Only the transmission and reception of the request content or the data content will be described.

Next, with reference toFIGS. 1,8A to8C,9, and10, the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the third embodiment.

First, the application units1-1 to1-3 transmit the registration request information, to which the management target identification information (“the communication channel A”, “the communication channel B”, and so on) kept in advance and the storage location of the status information (the area a1 in the status memory unit3, the area b1 in the status memory unit3, and so on) is added, to the status-information management unit42 so as to make a registration request of the storage location. In this case, the areas a1 and b1 are addresses in thememory unit93. The status-information management unit42 registers the storage location information in the registration-information memory unit5 in thememory unit93 based on the notified registration information including the management target identification information and the storage location. A detailed registering processing in this case is as follows.

For example, upon start-up of thebase station controller90, the application units1-1 to1-3 create the status memory units3. Specifically, the application units1-1 to1-3 sequentially confirm the presence/absence of theline interface circuits98. If theline interface circuit98 is present, an address is allocated to the presentline interface circuit98. Furthermore, the application units1-1 to1-3 generate management target identification information (for example, “the communication channel A”) to be set in the area indicated by the allocated address to set the generated identification information in the area indicated by the allocated address. In this case, the area indicated by the allocated address is preserved so as to store a status (a connection status, an error status on a communication channel, and a lock status). The information set in the preserved area may include information such as the identification information of theline interface circuits98 in addition to the management target identification information and the connection status. In this manner, the application units1-1 to1-3 check all theline interface circuits98 to create the status memory units3. The status memory units3 created at this time are, for example, as shown inFIGS. 8A to 8C. After that, the application units1-1 to1-3 add the thus set management target identification information and its storage location (for example, an address in the memory) to the registration request information. The application units1-1 to1-3 transmit the added registration request information to the status-information management unit42 to make a request of registration to the registration-information memory unit5 (sequence S31 ofFIG. 10). After the registration request, the application unit1-1 performs a connecting operation with the base station for each of theline interface circuits98. The application unit1-1 registers the result of the connecting operation (“connected” or “disconnected”) in the area of the corresponding communication channel in the status memory units3. Since the registration process of each of the application units1-2 and1-3 to its own status memory unit3 is the same as that described in the second embodiment, the description is herein omitted.

On the other hand, the status-information management unit42 receiving the request information stores the storage location of the status information in the registration-information memory unit5 based on the management target identification information as a key for searching the storage location of the status information (sequence S32). In this case, the storage location information contains the identification information of the application and the memory address. The created registration-information memory unit5 is, for example, that shown inFIG. 7. In this manner, the status-information management unit42 performs the registration processing of the storage location of the status information corresponding to the application units1-1 to1-3, and terminates the process of creating the registration-information memory unit5 at the time of start-up of the device.

Next, the application unit1-1 monitors the communication channel for each of theline interface circuits98. When a status change occurs, the result of change (“connected” or “disconnected”) is registered in the area of the connection status corresponding to the communication channel with a change in the status memory unit3-1.

At predetermined time intervals, the application unit1-2 obtains the number of occurred errors in each of theline interface circuits98 and the number of received packets between the predetermined time intervals to calculate an error rate. Furthermore, the application unit1-2 registers the calculated error rate in an error status area in the status memory unit3 corresponding to the communication channel of the calculated error rate.

When the operator sets “lock ON” or “lock OFF” for a particular one of theline interface circuits98 through theoperation unit95, the application unit1-3 puts the designatedline interface circuit98 into a locked state or a lock-off state. Furthermore, the application unit1-3 registers the result (“ON” or “OFF”) in the area of the lock status corresponding to the communication channel designated in the status memory unit3. When the device is powered ON, all the lock status areas in the status memory unit3 for the application unit1-3 are “OFF”.

On the other hand, it is assumed that the need for reading the status information arises almost simultaneously or within a predetermined time for the application units2-1 to2-3. Then, after attaching the identification information for identifying the management target (for example, “the communication channel A”) to the request information, the application units2-1 to2-3 transmit the request information for obtaining the needed status information to the status-information management unit42 (sequence S33). As a timing of the request of the application unit2-1, for example, a predetermined value is set for a timer (not shown) so as to enable an interrupt action of the application unit2-1 of thecontrol circuit91, for example, at predetermined time intervals. The application unit2-1 transmits the request information for reading out the status information to the status-information management unit42 each time the application unit2-1 is interrupted by the timer.

It is assumed that, for example, the status-information management unit42 first receives the request information from the application unit2-1. Then, the status-information management unit42 receiving the request information passes control to thesearch unit6. Thesearch unit6 taking control confirms whether or not the received identification information of the request source and the status type identification information (in the example, “the communication channel A”) are registered in the request status are all. Since the information are not registered yet in therequest status area11 as a result of the search, thesearch unit6 stores the identification information of the application unit2-1 corresponding to the request source, from which the request is received, and the management target identification information (in the example, “the communication channel A”) in therequest status area11. Furthermore, thesearch unit6 extracts the storage locations (“the area a1 in theAP11”, “the area a2 in the AP12”, and “the area a3 in theAP13”) of the status information from the registration-information memory unit5 based on the received “communication channel A” as a key for searching the storage location (sequence S34). After that, thesearch unit6 passes control to therequest unit7.

Therequest unit7 of the status-information management unit42 adds information containing the storage location information (“the area a1 in the AP11”) and the management target identification information (“the communication channel A”) to the request information, and transmits the request information for reading out the status information to the application unit1-1 corresponding to the “AP11” (sequence S35).

Furthermore, therequest unit7 adds information containing the storage location information and the management target identification information to the request information, and then transmits the request information for reading out the status information to the application unit1-2 corresponding to the “AP12” and the application unit1-3 corresponding to the “AP13” (sequence S35).

The application unit1-1 receiving the request information reads out the status information “connected” from the status memory unit3-1 based on the received “area a1” and “communication channel A” to transmit the readout status information to the status-information management unit42 (sequences S36 and S37).

The application unit1-2 receiving the request information reads out the status information “connected” from the status memory unit3-2 based on the received “area a2” and “communication channel A” to transmit the readout status information to the status-information management unit42 (sequences S36 and S37).

The application unit1-3 receiving the request information reads out the status information “connected” from the status memory unit3-3 based on the received “area a3” and “communication channel A” to transmit the readout status information to the status-information management unit42 (sequences S36 and S37).

In this case, since the application units1-1 to1-3 can use the memory addresses to directly designate the storage locations of the status information, a search time can be reduced as compared with a search method of using the management target identification information.

Theapplication unit1 may also use only the management target identification information to search through the status memory unit3 to extract the connection information corresponding to the status information although a processing time is longer than that of the direct access to the memory. Therefore, when only the management target identification information is used, the memory address may be omitted from the registration-information memory unit5. In this case, however, application identification information is required as information of the storage location.

On the other hand, when the status-information management unit42 receives the request information for reading out the status information for the “communication channel A” from the application units2-2 and2-3 while therequest unit7 of the status-information management unit42 is requesting the acquisition of the status information, the status-information management unit42 passes control to thesearch unit6. Then, thesearch unit6 confirms whether or not “the communication channel A” is registered in therequest status area11. Since “the communication channel A” is registered as a result of the confirmation, thesearch unit6 stores the identification information of the application units2-2 and2-3 corresponding to the request sources, from which the requests are received, and the management target identification information (in the example, “the communication channel A”) corresponding to the respective identification information of the application units2-2 and2-3 in therequest status area11. Furthermore, thesearch unit6 terminates the processing without passing control to therequest unit7. Therefore, since therequest unit7 does not take control from thesearch unit6, therequest unit7 does not transmit the request information for obtaining the status information to the application units1-1 to1-3. In this case, therequest area11 stores the identification information of the application units2-1 to2-3 and the management target identification information (in the example, “the communication channel A”) corresponding to the respective identification information of the application units2-1 to2-3.

On the other hand, the status-information management unit42 passes control to the status-information distributing unit10 each time receiving the status information. The status-information distributing unit10 taking control waits until all the status information from the three application units1-1 to1-3 are obtained. When all the status information are obtained, the status-information distributing unit10 searches for the request source registered as “the communication channel A” in therequest status area11 to extract the identification information of the application units2-1 to2-3. In order to transmit the same status information to the extracted application units2-1 to2-3 corresponding to the request sources, the status-information distributing unit10 aggregates three status information received from the application units1-1 to1-3 and obtains three copies of the aggregated status information. The status-information distributing unit10 transmits on of three copies of the status information to the application units2-1 to2-3 corresponding to the request sources, respectively (sequence S38). Furthermore, the status-information distributing unit11 clears the information corresponding to “the communication channel A” (in the example, the identification information of the application units2-1 to2-3 and “the communication channel A” registered with each of the identification information) in therequest status area11.

The application units2-1 to2-3 receiving the notification that “the communication channel A” is in a “connected” status switch their operations in accordance with the status (sequence S39).

As described above, the status-information management unit42 receives the request information for obtaining the status information, to which the management target identification information is added, from theapplication units2 requiring the status information. Then, the status-information management unit42 extracts the storage location information from the registration-information memory unit5 to transmit the request information with the storage location information for obtaining the status information to theapplication units1. Therefore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, the status-information management unit42 is not required to confirm whether or not theapplication units1 store the latest status information.

Moreover, in the third embodiment of the present invention, theapplication unit1 and theapplication unit2 are not required to be conscious of each other's presence. Therefore, the status information can be transmitted and received between the applications in a simple control procedure.

Furthermore, in the above description, when the plurality ofapplication units1 are present, the status-information management unit42 does not store the status information kept by the plurality ofapplication units1 in the registration-information memory unit5 managed by itself but stores the storage location information of the status information in the registration-information memory unit5. Therefore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, even if the number of theapplication units1 increases, it is not necessary to manage the status information present in theapplication units1 in a complicated manner, and thereby the maintenance simplified. Furthermore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, since it is not necessary to manage the status information in which a change frequently occurs, inconsistency in status does not occur between theapplication units1 and the status-information management unit42. Moreover, in the second embodiment of the present invention, even if the number of theapplication units1 increases, it is not necessary to manage the status information in which a change frequently occurs. Accordingly, even if the number of theapplication units1 increases, a load on a CPU does not increase.

The third embodiment is excellent in the following points as compared with the first and second embodiments. Specifically, in the above description, when the plurality ofapplication units2 requesting the acquisition of the status information of the same management target are present, the status-information distributing unit10 distributes the status information obtained in response to acquisition requests (request information for reading out the status information) to the plurality of applications making the plurality of acquisition requests. Therefore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, even if the plurality of acquisition requests are issued for the same management target, it is no longer necessary to make the acquisition request for the same status information twice to theapplication units1. Furthermore, even if a acquisition request for a management target is outputted from oneapplication unit2 while the acquisition request for the management target is outputted to theapplication unit1, the status-information distributing unit10 of the status-information management unit42 does not make the acquisition request information so as not to output the same acquisition request twice. Therefore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, theapplication units1 are prevented from performing an extra processing.

In the third embodiment, after the status-information management unit42 receives the request information for obtaining the status information from the application units2-1 to2-3, thesearch unit6 of the status-information management unit42 extracts the storage location information corresponding to the management target identification information from the registration-information memory unit5. In the third embodiment, however, instead of using the registration-information memory unit5, thesearch unit6 may calculate the storage location information corresponding to the management target identification information by a calculation formula. In this case, the management target identification information corresponds to an input of the calculation formula, while the storage location information corresponds to an output of the calculation formula.

The first to third embodiments have been described above taking the base station controller as an example of the status management device. However, a computer (for example, a personal computer, a work station, a server, a PDA, or the like) operated by program control of a CPU may also be applied to the present invention. The PDA in this case is an abbreviation for Personal Digital Assistance.

Although the group of theapplication units1, the group of theapplication units2, and the status-information management unit are operated under the control of the same control circuit91 (the CPU911) in the above description, they may also be functional blocks operated by program control of different CPUs. Furthermore, the application units1-1 to1-3 may be functional blocks operated by program control of different CPUs. Furthermore, the application units2-1 to2-3 may be functional blocks operated by program control of different CPUs. In this case, since the transmission and reception of data between each of the plurality ofapplication units1 and2 and the status-information management unit are performed through an internal bus, the data transmission and reception differ from those in the above-described first to third embodiments in which data is transmitted and received through a particular area. Otherwise, the remaining operation is the same as that described in the first to third embodiments. Therefore, the detailed description thereof is herein omitted. As an operation on the internal bus in this case, data (request information or data information) is transmitted on the internal bus in accordance with a protocol on the bus. The internal bus may be separately provided for a control system and a data system using control signals or may be a serial bus using packet communication. On the other hand, a computer system, in which a CPU device including the application units1 (1-1 and so on), a CPU device including the application units2 (2-1 and so on), and a CPU device including the status-information management unit are connected independently through a LAN, is conceivable. Even in this case, a difference resides only in a communication medium (corresponding to the serial bus) for transmitting and receiving data. Therefore, it is apparent that the computer system supposing the LAN is encompassed in the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

Although the group of the status memory units3 (3-1,3-2, and so on) are allocated to a certain area in thesame memory unit93 in the above embodiment, the status memory units3 may also be allocated to different memory units.

Although thestorage unit92 is the non-volatile recording medium device in the above description, thestorage unit92 may also be a non-volatile memory (for example, a flash memory or the like).

Although the registration-information memory unit5, the status memory units3, andrequest status area11 are allocated in the volatile memory in the above description, they may also be allocated in the non-volatile memory (for example, a flash memory or the like) or the non-volatile recording medium device (for example, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk).

Further, it is the inventor's intent to retain all equivalents of the claimed invention even if the claims are amended during prosecution.

Claims (17)

What is claimed is:

1. A status management device, comprising:

one or a plurality of first application units for monitoring status information indicating a status of a plurality of communication channels;

a storage device for storing a correspondence table having identification information of each of the plurality of communication channels and a storage location of status information for each of the plurality of communication channels respectively associated therewith;

one or a plurality of second application units for outputting first acquisition request information of the status information with identification information of one of the plurality of communication channels;

a search unit for outputting the storage location corresponding to the identification information based on the correspondence table, when the first acquisition request information is received from the second application unit, the outputted storage location comprises a memory address indicating a memory location storing the status information;

a request unit for outputting second acquisition request information of the status information to the first application unit corresponding to the outputted storage location, the second acquisition request information comprising the storage location;

a transmission unit for outputting the status information supplied from the first application unit in response to the second acquisition request information to the second application unit which corresponds to a request source of the first acquisition request information; and

a CPU controlling at least said search unit, said request unit and said transmission unit,

wherein the first application unit transmits a latest status information of a first application through the transmission unit whenever the first application unit receives the second acquisition request information from the request unit.

2. The status management device according toclaim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of memory units for storing different types of the status information corresponding to at least one communication channel of the plurality of communication channels by the first application unit; and

an aggregating unit for aggregating a plurality of status information from the memory units which are respectively supplied from the plurality of first application units in response to the second acquisition request information and outputting the aggregated status information to the second application corresponding to the request source.

3. The status management device according toclaim 1, further comprising:

a distributing unit for outputting the status information supplied from the first application unit in response to the second acquisition request to a plurality of second application units corresponding to the request sources when the first acquisition request information for the same communication channel of the plurality of communication channels is received from the plurality of second application units corresponding to the request sources.

4. The status management device according toclaim 1, wherein the search unit does not output the second acquisition request information to the first application unit when the first acquisition request information with the identification information of the same communication channel of the plurality of communication channels is received from another one of the second application units while the first acquisition request information is output to the first application unit.

5. The status management device according toclaim 1, wherein the storage location further comprises identification information of the first application unit.

6. The status management device according toclaim 1, further comprising a base station controller.

7. The status management device according toclaim 6, wherein the status information processed by the first application unit of the base station controller contains at least one of connection status information of a respective communication channel of the plurality of communication channels with a base station, lock status information indicating whether or not to use the respective communication channel of the plurality of communication channels, error information on the respective communication channel of the plurality of communication channels, and error information of a line interface circuit for performing control to establish the respective communication channel of the plurality of communication channels.

8. A status management device, comprising:

first application means for monitoring status information indicating a status of a plurality of communication channels;

a storage means for storing a correspondence table having identification information of each of the plurality of communication channels and a storage location of status information for each of the plurality of communication channels respectively associated therewith;

second application means for outputting first acquisition request information of the status information to which identification information of one of the plurality of communication channels is appended;

search means for outputting the storage location corresponding to the identification information based on the correspondence table, when the first acquisition request information is received from the second application means, the outputted storage location comprises a memory address indicating a memory location storing the status information;

request means for outputting second acquisition request information of the status information to the first application means, which corresponds to the outputted storage location, the second acquisition request information comprising the storage location;

transmission means for outputting the status information supplied from the first application means in response to the second acquisition request information to the second application means which corresponds to a request source of the first acquisition request information; and

processing means for controlling at least said search means, said request means and said transmission means, wherein the first application means transmits a latest status information of a first application through the transmission means whenever the first application means receives the second acquisition request information from the request means.

9. The status management device according toclaim 8, further comprising:

a plurality of memory means for storing different types of the status information corresponding to at least one communication channel of the plurality of communication channels by the first application means; and

aggregating means for aggregating a plurality of pieces of status information from the memory means which are respectively supplied from the plurality of first application units in response to the second acquisition request information and outputting the aggregated status information to the second application corresponding to the request source.

10. The status management device according toclaim 8, further comprising:

distributing means for outputting the status information supplied from the first application means in response to the second acquisition request to the plurality of second application means corresponding to the request sources when the first acquisition request information for the same communication channel of the plurality of communication channels is received from the plurality of second application means corresponding to the request sources.

11. The status management device according toclaim 8, wherein the search means does not output the second acquisition request information to the first application means when the first acquisition request information with the identification information of the same communication channel of the plurality of communication channels is received from another one of the second application units while the first acquisition request information is output to the first application means.

12. A status management method, comprising:

providing one or a plurality of first application units for monitoring status information indicating a status of a plurality of communication channels;

providing one or plurality of second application units for outputting first acquisition request information of the status information with identification information of one of the plurality of communication channels;

outputting a storage location corresponding to the identification information, based on a correspondence table, when the first acquisition request information is received from the second application unit, the outputted storage location comprises a memory address indicating a memory storing the status information, the correspondence table having identification information of each of the plurality of communication channels and a storage location of status information for each of the plurality of communication channels respectively associated therewith;

outputting second acquisition request information of the status information to the first application unit corresponding to the outputted storage location, the second acquisition request information comprising the storage location; and

outputting status information supplied from the first application unit in response to the second acquisition request information to the second application unit which corresponds to a request source of the first acquisition request information,

wherein a latest status information of a first application is output whenever the first application unit receives the second acquisition request information.

13. The status management method according toclaim 12, further comprising:

storing different types of the status information corresponding to at least one communication channel of the plurality of communication channels by the first application unit; and

aggregating a plurality of pieces of status information from the memory units, which are respectively supplied from the plurality of first application units in response to the second acquisition request information and outputting the aggregated status information to the second application corresponding to the request source.

14. The status management method according toclaim 12, further comprising:

outputting the status information supplied from the first application unit in response to the second acquisition request to the plurality of second application units corresponding to the request sources when the first acquisition request information for the same communication channel of the plurality of communication channels is received from the plurality of second application units corresponding to the request sources.

15. The status management method according toclaim 12, wherein the second acquisition request information is not output to the first application unit when the first acquisition request information with the identification information of the same communication channel of the plurality of communication channels is received from another one of the second application units while the first acquisition request information is output to the first application unit.

16. The status management method according toclaim 12, wherein the storage location further comprises identification information of the first application unit.

17. A non-transitory recording medium for storing a program to be executed by a computer including a plurality of application units operated by program control, the program for causing the computer to execute:

outputting a storage location corresponding to received identification information, based on a correspondence table, when first acquisition information of status information with the identification information for identifying a communication channel of a plurality of communication channels is received from a first application unit requiring the status information, the outputted storage location comprises a memory address indicating a memory location managed by the first application unit storing the status information, the correspondence table having identification information of each of the plurality of communication channels and a storage location of status information for each of the plurality of communication channels respectively associated therewith;

outputting second acquisition information of the status information to a second application unit corresponding to the outputted storage location, the second acquisition request information comprising the storage location; and

outputting the status information supplied from the second application unit in response to the second acquisition request information to the first application unit corresponding to a request source of the first acquisition request information,

wherein a latest status information of a first application is output whenever the first application unit receives the second acquisition request information.

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